Saturday, December 19, 2015

You never realize how big your hometown is NOT until you trek to the third largest city in the country, then have to learn to be okay with the traffic for the next 13 weeks. The side roads are called feeders because they "feed" into the interstates (Clever). The interstates run straight through every city and suburban area, Texas people love Texas (a lot), and this southern draw of mine is far too foreign to the general public. They say "soda" instead of Coke or soft drink, "carts" instead of buggies, and BlueBell reigns supreme. The BlueBell commercial received a round of applause at an Astros game one Sunday. That's just insane, it's only ice cream. In Alabama, Mayfield is 4 stars in my playbook and sweet tea requires way more sugar (ask Milo's) then none at all, and once and for all, BBQ sandwiches should come from pork. We save the beef for burgers. Everything may be bigger in Texas but not always better. Ha. I say that and can hear my Texas co workers cringe. Don't let them being in the "south" fool you. They don't do monograms or seersucker, college football (ROLL TIDE), or quite understand that ChikFilA could roll over Whataburger any day of the week. Even on Sundays. I do love Texas though. I feel like we get stuck in bubbles. Obviously there is nothing wrong with that, but it's nice to see how others live and how they view life. It was truly an eye opening experience to see the world through a different city's perspective. 13 weeks flew by. I saw the Astros beat the Rangers, Alabama beat Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Harden score 50, Hermann Park (pronounced "her-men" not "her-man"), the zoo, museums and even one beach that couldn't hold a candle to the beaches in Alabama (sorry not sorry about that one). I learned that dinners by yourself were totally okay and it didn't mean you were lonely, but dinners at Esteban's with your coworkers were even better. I semi learned the two step and quickly realized it was more of a workout than any dance I was used to. Most importantly, I learned that you must go to Texas with an appetite and pants that stretch, a lot. Ha. I do hope to visit again someday, I really do. (Next time, I better add meeting JJ Watt to that list).That's the glory of this traveling gig, we can travel wherever the wind takes us. And to my very first Cath lab crew outside of home, thank you. You took me in like the little sister you never did have. Y'all were the best lunch dates and weekend buddies to have around. I never in a million years expected to be welcomed with such open arms at my first assignment and you proved me wrong every single day by being the coolest, craziest bunch of gals & guys I now get to call friends. I am so thankful for this opportunity. More than any words I could express on this blog. Thank you CL Cath lab. You made this small town Alabama girl's dream of a traveling nurse come true. I'm forever grateful, but now it's onto to the next my friends. Keep up.